Il est often dit that walking 10,000 steps a day is good for health. This is once again scientifically proven, thanks to new research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
21% less risk of cardiovascular disease
Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia conducted a study of more than 72,000 people who wore wrist-worn measurement devices for seven days. They measured their physical activity, daily step count, and time spent sitting while awake. The average age of participants was 61 years old and the majority (58%) were women.
The average number of steps per day was 6,222. The 5% of participants who walked the most only made 2,200 movements per day. Sedentary time is considered high from 10.6 hours per day and low before that duration. Risk factors such as age, alcohol consumption, smoking, education, diet, family history, etc. were taken into account.
For 6.9 years, researchers followed the average health status of participants, through their hospitalization data and death records. During this period, 1,633 participants died and 6,190 cardiovascular problems were recorded.
Armed with this data, researchers calculated that the ideal number of steps per day to overcome long periods of sitting is between 9,000 and 10,000. This number was associated with a 39% reduction in the risk of death and a 21% reduction in cardiovascular disease, even in sedentary people. Scientists note that from 4,000 to 4,500 steps per day, the benefit obtained is 50%.
Walk every day, 10,000 steps or less
“This contains the important public health message that all movement counts and that people can and should try to offset the health consequences of inevitable sitting time by increasing daily step count,” said Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, lead author of the study, in a statement.
However, researchers have emphasized that the association between the number of steps and the reduction of risk does not imply a direct and systematic influence on each other, as this is only an observational study. In addition, other factors may not have been taken into account by researchers, which could lead to different results.
However, these learning limitations should not dampen your enthusiasm for walking! It remains an effective and accessible way to fight sedentary lifestyle which has serious consequences on health. Based on the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the fourth risk factor for non-communicable diseases and causes 3.2 to 5 million deaths per year worldwide.